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Monday, 30 June 2014

Joining the already impressive roster of guests attending Fighting Fantasy Fest on Sunday 7 September 2014 at the DoubleTree Hilton in Ealing, West London, are Leo Hartas, the Fighting Fantasy cartographer, and John Blanche, the man who illustrated Steve Jackson's legendary Sorcery! series.

1) You will not only get to listen to the Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, the co-creators of Fighting Fantasy, give a talk about the history of their gaming and publishing phenomenon, you'll also be able to get your FF treasures signed by them, and even hang out in the Black Lobster Tavern with them!2) The Adventurer's Backpack goodie bag that is included in the price of every ticket is chock full of awesome merchandise, with many of the items being exclusive to the event, such as the limited edition Zagor miniature and the collectible convention programme - not to mention the bag itself!

3) There are a host of special guests coming toFIGHTING FANTASY FEST, including legendary fantasy artists Chris Achilleos, Russ Nicholson, Malcolm Barter and Tony Hough. Tin Man Games and Inkle Studios will also be there to talk about their latest FF and Sorcery! app releases, and Tin Man are even generously giving away a download code to all attendees. And on top of that Arion Games will be running demo games of Advanced Fighting Fantasy!

4) One of the highlights of the day will be an auction of rare - and highly collectible - items of FF memorabilia from the Warlocks' own hoard, including a pair of swords made to promote the Deathtrap Dungeon video game and now hard-to-find classic Fighting Fantasy computer games.

5) Quite simply, Fighting Fantasy Fest is going to be a unique experience. There has never been an FF event like it before, and YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks is going to launch on the day. Just think, when FF is celebrating it's 50th anniversary in 2032, you'll be able to look back and say, "I was there!"

Every full price paying guest will also receive a complimentary Adventurer's Backpack. (We want everyone who attends FIGHTING FANTASY FESTto feel like a VIP.)

So what's in this Adventurer's Backpack? What, you mean apart from a collectible convention programme, Tin Man Games app download code, a poster and the bag itself (which is sure to become a collector's item in its own right)?How about a limited edition metal miniature of Zagor, the Warlock of Firetop Mountain himself? How about a Pax Britannia novel by Yours Truly? And how about a Fighting Fantasy gamebook? Not only that, but if you're one of the first 100 people to buy a ticket for FIGHTING FANTASY FESTthat gamebook will be none other than the much sought after, limited edition hardback of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, including a solution and map, and a host of other fascinating snippets of information.And as if that wasn't enough to tempt you, everyone who buys a ticket for FIGHTING FANTASY FESTwill be entered into a draw to win the chance to have their name appear in a forthcoming Fighting Fantasy app from Tin Man Games.Aside from the Adventurer's Backpack, and the money-can't-buy prize on offer, we also have all of the following planned for Sunday 7 September 2014:

Arion Games will be running sessions of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG

Tin Man Games and Inkle Studios will be talking about their app adaptations of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks and Steve Jackson's Sorcery! epic

Trade stands

Book signings

Panels and talks

An exhibition of rare Fighting Fantasy memorabilia

A Fighting Fantasy auction

Among the items being auctioned at FIGHTING FANTASY FESTwill be two swords, currently owned by Ian Livingstone, made to promote the Deathtrap Dungeon video game, and seen here in the hands of the Warlocks of Firetop Mountain.

Malcolm's illustrations of the Fire Demon, Yaztromo's Tower, the Werewolf, and the like, are well known to Fighting Fantasy fans, and have recently had colour added for the Tin Man Games' app version of the gamebook.

If you first experienced Malcolm's work when you were a child, you could introduce your own child to the man himself, by purchasing one of the Adult and Child tickets that are now available (in strictly limited numbers).

Tuesday, 10 June 2014

I often find myself feeling guilty that YOU ARE THE HERO is six months overdue and still not out yet, although I feel less guilty than I used to, especially when I've been doing this all evening...

And when we have something akin to a publication date in place...

I think many people underestimate how long it will take them to (a) run their Kickstarter campaign, (b) finish their project, and (c) get the thing made/published/downloaded so that everyone who pledged to the project can enjoy the finished product. I know I certainly did. Which got me thinking about all the various Kickstarters I backed in the run-up to launching the YOU ARE THE HERO campaign, during it and since it successfully funded.

So here are some fun, throwaway stats for you:

To date, via Kickstarter, I have run 2 projects. One funded, raising 142% of its target funding goal. One failed to fund, only achieving 40% of its target before it ran out of both time and steam.

However, I have backed 31 projects. Of these, one was cancelled and one failed to fund.

Of the remaining 26, 9 I supported without asking for any reward. That leaves 17.

Of those 17, I have received the finished product from 10.

That still leaves another 7 unaccounted for. Of those 7, all but one are overdue, the worst by over a year.

Wednesday, 4 June 2014

The first dedicated Fighting Fantasy
convention, with Special Guests of Honour Steve
Jackson and Ian Livingstone,
featuring the official launch of YOU ARE
THE HERO – A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks by Jonathan Green.

Sunday 7 September 2014 will see the first dedicated Fighting Fantasy convention take place at
the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel in Ealing, West London. Steve Jackson and Ian
Livingstone, co-creators of the publishing and gaming phenomenon that is
Fighting Fantasy, will be Special Guests of Honour at the event, where they
will be joined by legendary fantasy artists Russ Nicholson, Chris
Achilleos and Tony Hough. A
highlight of the day will be Steve and Ian’s own talk on the History of
Fighting Fantasy.

Fighting Fantasy Fest will see the official launch of
Jonathan Green’s YOU ARE THE HERO – A
History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, along with an exhibition of rare FF memorabilia – including original artwork and
other more obscure artefacts connected to the series – as well as trade stands, and an auction of Fighting Fantasy treasures. Arion Games will be running Advanced
Fighting Fantasy role-playing game sessions during the day, while Tin Man Games and Inkle Studios will also be in attendance, talking about their digital
versions of such classic gamebooks as Ian Livingstone’s The Forest of Doom and Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! epic.

Tickets for the event cost £50 each, and every attendee will
receive an event-exclusive Adventurer’s Backpack containing various Fighting Fantasy Fest and YOU ARE THE HERO goodies.

“The success of the YOU ARE THE HERO Kickstarter project demonstrated
that there is still an active community of Fighting Fantasy fans out in the
world who would relish the chance to not only meet their heroes, but to get
together and share their stories of battling the horrors of Deathtrap Dungeon or braving the perils
of Kharé – Cityport of Traps,” says
Jonathan Green, author of the History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, “ideally
whilst quaffing a flagon of ale in Port Blacksand’s infamous Black Lobster
Tavern.” (The event will even feature a themed bar!)

Ian Livingstone, co-creator of Fighting Fantasy said, “It’s crazy
really that it’s taken 32 years for a dedicated Fighting Fantasy event to take
place! But that’s going to make it all the more special. It will be
brilliant to see old friends, artists, authors and fans again after all this
time. I’m going to bring along some special Fighting Fantasy items that have
never been seen in public before. It certainly will be a Return to Firetop
Mountain! I can’t wait.”

Steve
Jackson, who is famed for his Sorcery! series, said, “Amazing to think it’s
almost 40 years since the first Games Day was held, at Seymour Hall and Baths
in Central London. There was a great buzz at that event. Visitors – and
organisers – felt they were attending a special occasion. I’m sure it will be
the same kind of buzz at Fighting Fantasy Fest. FF celebrities will be there,
dealers and memorabilia, game demos and a special auction of items from the
Jackson and Livingstone personal archives. This will be an event not to be
missed by FF readers. I’m really looking forward to it.”

For more information, or to arrange interviews with the
organisers of Fighting Fantasy Fest, please email Jonathan Green at info@jonathangreenauthor.com.

Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland

YOU ARE THE HERO

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About Me

I am a freelance writer and editor, well known for my contributions to the Fighting Fantasy range of adventure gamebooks. I have also written for such diverse properties as Sonic the Hedgehog, Doctor Who, Star Wars and Games Workshop's worlds of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000.
I am the creator of the alternative steampunk universe of Pax Britannia, and have written eight novels featuring the debonair dandy adventurer Ulysses Quicksilver.
As well as my fiction work, I have also written a number of non-fiction books including 'Match Wits with the Kids', 'What is Myrrh Anyway? Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Christmas' and 'YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks'.